The Willow Read online

  The deepening of his voice raised my brows a little and when his lips touched my skin, I couldn’t help but blush.

  Kyden snatched my hand away from Talon. “Alright. Enough of that.”

  I probably would have kept on blushing if Haven’s voice hadn’t distracted me. “Are you two done or what?”

  I spun around and was pleased to note that she was smiling brightly at the sight of Kyden holding my hand. She gave me a little wink. Obviously, she was satisfied of his feelings toward me since she appeared overjoyed seeing us together. Phew!

  “You’re coming with us?” I asked her.

  She nodded. “I’m part of your team now. Isn’t that exciting?”

  “You’re not fighting are you?”

  She giggled. “Fighting? Are you out of your mind? Of course not. I’m going to recreate the scene for you.”

  “Recreate the what, now?”

  Zia cut in. “Don’t try and understand it. You’ll see for yourself soon enough.”

  “You’ll get no arguments from me.” I shrugged. “Probably couldn’t understand it even if you explained it.”

  She grinned. “Probably not.”

  “Come to us when the matter is dealt with,” Talon said, and after a quick wink my way, he headed back to his chair. Just as we turned away, Talon called out. “Nexi,”

  I spun back around to face him. “Do us proud tonight.”

  * * * *

  My stomach turned, whirled, then clenched. I shouldn’t have eaten. A small picnic area, which sat in the middle of two small apartment buildings sat before me, and a man was spread out on the grass, completely drained of his blood.

  As we drew closer, I clamped my mouth tight forcing the barf to stay right where it belonged. The way the man’s skin was hanging off his bones was enough to make me sick—the smell of him was almost a guarantee.

  Kyden nudged my arm. “Alright?”

  I shrugged with indecision since I wasn’t quite sure yet.

  “Kyden,” a voice came beside me.

  “Jesus.” Startled, I jumped three feet off the ground.

  Kyden laughed and took my hand, then glanced toward the vampire approaching us. “Pleasure to see you again, Graycyn.”

  The Detective was your beauty queen extraordinaire—perfect body, perfect face. Even her long blonde loose curls hung perfectly. Bitch. Bitch. Bitch.

  “You’re new?” she asked, giving me a once over.

  “Brand spanking new,” I replied, and held out my hand. “I’m Nexi.”

  She shook it and smiled brilliantly. “Pleasure.” Then, she glanced over to the body. “Nothing unusual here—classic bloodlust killing.”

  That was a no-brainer. The guy didn’t have a drop of blood left in him.

  “If you don’t need me around for anything else,” she purred. Her gaze lingered on Kyden’s chest. “I must be off.”

  I glared at her and Kyden laughed again, shaking his head. “No that’s all.”

  She sighed deeply. “Shame,” and with that she left.

  “Bitch,” I grumbled under my breath. So I was jealous. Kill me. But Miss America wasn’t coming anywhere near my man.

  Kyden slapped my ass hard, wearing his devilish grin. “I don’t share, either.”

  I laughed away the jealously and glanced over at Haven.

  She was standing over the man’s body, hands raised to the sky. Suddenly, energy began to grow around us, nearly a throbbing crescendo like a heartbeat.

  “This is when it gets weird, right?” I asked Kyden.

  He shrugged. “That depends on your definition of weird.”

  If only I had a chance to respond, a bright flash interrupted my thought. After the initial shock, I said, “Okay, this meets my definition of weird.” The man was being murdered before my eyes. He was screaming, thrashing out, doing whatever it took to free himself from the vampire drinking at his throat. His attempts were useless. The vampire held him still with little effort. “How is she doing that?”

  “She can manipulate time and bring the moment back to us.”

  “Like time travel?”

  “It’s not quite time travel. It’s more like capturing a moment in time. Haven is just bringing that imprint back.”

  My gaze hadn’t left the man. It couldn’t. Watching the life being drained from someone is far from enjoyable. Mercifully, it didn’t take long before the man died. When the vampire finished, he threw the carcass aside and stood. “No, I was wrong!” I snapped. “This is my definition of weird.”

  Nothing should surprise me considering what I’d already been through, but seeing this shocked me silly. I wasn’t quite sure what stunned me more, the scene I’d just witnessed, or seeing the vampire standing before me frozen in time. It was just bizarre.

  “You need to memorize him” Kyden said, drawing me away from amazement. “Learn his details. Anything that will help you identify him.”

  Stepping forward, I came face to face with him. Definitely looked like a typical vampire—long dark hair, hollowed out cheekbones, and dark eyes, which glowed slightly from a well fed meal.

  “He looks so nice. Who’d believe…?” My words cut off as Kyden’s sword sliced free from his scabbard. I reached for mine and whipped around, ready to attack.

  There was no one there.

  Kyden grinned from ear to ear. “You can’t kill this vampire.”

  “Yes I know that, thank you,” I responded, snippily. “Why’d you draw your sword?”

  “The magic in our swords dissipates the body.” He stabbed down and the man vanished instantly. He turned to Haven. “You can go now.”

  “I don’t want to,” she pouted. “Can’t I stay?”

  Kyden sighed, annoyed. “We are not going to go through this every time. We have a job to do. Nexi can see you when she gets back. Alright?”

  “Fine,” she grumbled. She leaned in, kissed my cheek, and vanished too.

  I sheathed my sword. “Was Houdini a supe?”

  Kyden arched a brow. “Come again?”

  “Houdini. You know the magician. Was he a supe? The whole disappearing act suddenly makes a whole lot of sense.”

  He shook his head at me and took my hand. “Come on. Vamps own a club near here. He will likely be there.”

  As we walked down the street, a thought sprung up. “Either you have a real good explanation of why we have swords strapped to our backs or I’m missing something.”

  “Humans cannot see our swords.” He gave me a knowing look. “Magical remember?”

  “Right!” Magical. “Well, that’s convenient.” We passed a picnic table and headed out of the park, walking left. “You know where you’re going?”

  He nodded. “I know New York well. While I trained we practically lived here.” He smiled at me. “It was a fun time.”

  I snorted. “I bet it was.” He probably had more fun than I care to know about. I was slightly curious about one thing, though. “Have you ever—you know—with a human?”

  “You sure you want to know the answer to that question?”

  I reflected for a moment, then nodded. “I do.”

  He sighed deeply and glanced to the ground. “Yes, I have once.” He met my gaze again. “I was curious.”

  “Sooo…did you like it?”

  He stopped. His expression was soft. “I will be honest with you because I would want nothing less from you.” His jaw clenched a little. He didn’t want to have this conversation. “Yes. I did enjoy it.”

  Dammit! Why did I have to be so flippin’ curious? This bugged me—big time! Stupid, Nexi! Stupid!

  He lifted my chin, forced me to meet his gaze. “Stop that.”

  “Stop what?”

  “That.” He pointed to my face. “I see what you’re thinking. You never need to feel less than or threatened by who I have been with.” He cupped the back of my head. “When I take you, nothing will compare. Trust me on that.”

>   “And when exactly will that be?” I purred. His theory I understood, but I wanted him as I wanted chocolate during PMS.

  He gave his devilish grin. “Soon.” Then, he yanked me closer, took my lips deep enough to bring me to a boil. He tore away from my mouth, leaving me to stand there trying to regain an ounce of control as he headed off, chuckling to himself. When I didn’t follow, he glanced over his shoulder grinning with satisfaction. “Coming?”

  “I wish I was,” I grumbled. Trying to get my mind on something else, I changed the subject. “I’m taking a wild guess here, but supes don’t know what Haven can do, do they?” No one could be that stupid.

  “That’s right. It’s a very guarded secret.”

  When I glanced back down the street, a man was approaching us. Nothing supernatural ¯ just a guy in his early thirties. The closer he got, the more obvious it became that he was checking me out. His eyes grew wider as they slowly ran up and down my body.

  “Eyes off,” Kyden growled. “Or I’ll remove them.”

  His voice even frightened me a little. Apparently, it had a similar effect on the man. He dropped his head immediately and quickened his steps as he walked past.

  Did I smell…?

  I snapped my head to Kyden. “Was that really necessary? I think he pissed himself.”

  He looked at me as if what I just said was the most absurd thing he’d ever heard. “I did tell you that I do not share either.”

  * * * *

  It’d been a long, annoying hour of watching, searching, and waiting at Club Fang. But the damn vampire wasn’t anywhere in sight. Patience was never my strong suit. I glanced back at Kyden. “What makes you so sure the vampire who killed the guy is here?”

  He snapped his head toward me. “Quiet.” He gave an outwards nod. “Vampires can hear you.”

  When I looked out, every vampire in the room stood frozen—their eyes throwing daggers at us. I sighed, my irritation very evident. “You could have mentioned that a little earlier.” Then, I wouldn’t be looking like an all you-can-eat buffet. But within the crowd, something caught my eye. At the end of the dance floor, hidden within the shadows, were two very bright green eyes blazing with fury. I nudged Kyden’s arm. “I’m going on a hunch here but I think that might be our vampire.”

  Just as Kyden followed my gaze, the vampire bolted for the door with impeccable speed. Kyden swore and rushed forward. “Go out the front.”

  Spinning on my heels, I ran in the opposite direction, pushing my way through the crowd. Receiving a couple smacks on my ass on the way out. They were only lucky I was too preoccupied to care.

  The bouncer held the door open, laughing. “You come back now.”

  Breezing past him, I hit the parking lot where I ran smack into the vampire.

  Kyden stopped running and approached with long lengthy strides. He gave a firm nod, full of confidence. “Go on.”

  Drawing in a deep breath, I began to circle the vampire. “Your cheeks haven’t even changed, still flushed and showing your guilt.”

  “I have no idea what you are talking about.” His voice held a slight Irish accent.

  “Oh, well then, we must have the wrong vampire,” I exaggerated sarcastically. “Boy, it sure looked like you. The same hair, same light eyes and hands that were wrapped around that poor man’s throat as you sucked him dry.” My circle grew tighter. “Listen bloodsucker, kill the act. I’d never forget your face.”

  He quit playing stupid quick, going straight for pathetic. “I couldn’t help myself. His blood was too delicious. I couldn’t stop.” His voice trembled.

  Amusing—a vampire scared seemed funny. Before he could say anything else, I slammed a knee hard into his groin. Just because he was a vampire didn’t mean he doesn’t have the parts and it worked like a charm. He went down like a sack of potatoes.

  “It was a mistake,” he gasped, pleading. It won’t happen again.”

  My gaze met Kyden’s. “Is that possible?” In training, he explained bloodlust. How it overtook them. Some could control it. Some couldn’t. Maybe this was an accident—something he could prevent from happening again.

  Kyden shook his head without hesitation. “No.”

  There went that idea.

  Turning back to the vampire, his eyes began to glow again. He knew what was coming. His fangs extended. “You think I’ll go down without a fight?”

  I readied my stance. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

  Without time to shut my mouth, he slammed into me with such force I was airborne. As I descended, Kyden looked one second away from tearing this vampire apart. I landed, scrapping my back raw against the pavement. “Don’t even think about it, Kyden,” I growled at him. “I’ve got this.” I didn’t need his help. I could deal with this. I wanted to deal with this.

  When I met the vampire’s gaze again, he was only a foot away, flying toward me. Before he could hit, I kicked out hard with both legs, thrusting him back. I sprang to my feet and lunged forward.

  His skill was nowhere near the level of Zade’s. This was an easy defeat. No matter how hard he tried, and he surely tried, he couldn’t land a hit on me. In a desperate attempt, he gave up on the fighting and went straight for my neck.

  Reciprocating, I smashed my palm against his head propelling him backwards. “Keep your fangs to yourself, asshole!” Then, I grabbed my sword and swung it with all my might.

  The vampire appeared shocked.

  Everything from there slowed. He blinked. His mouth opened. Then, it all went blank. With a heavy thud, his head tumbled off with his body following shortly thereafter.

  I gulped deeply, staring at his head to my left and his body to my right. Not really sure how I felt about the whole thing. It was gross, that much was clear-cut. Thankfully, I didn’t have to look long. The body, along with every speck of blood, vanished.

  Kyden stepped in behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Handled perfectly.” Then, we landed back in the foyer where Haven stood smiling.

  “How did it go?” she asked.

  It wasn’t a surprise to see her waiting. I mean, its Haven. “He’s dead,” I answered. “So, I guess it went pretty good.”

  “Way to go.” She gave me a high five. “One down a few thousands to go.”

  Kyden grunted a little, pulling me away. “The Council is expecting us.”

  “Oopsie.” Haven’s cheeks flushed. “I’ll check ya later!” With that, she bounced off.

  When we entered the Council’s Hall, Talon stood. “Is the matter dealt with?”

  Kyden gave me a reassuring nod that it should be me to answer.

  “Yes,” I told him, firmly.

  Talon’s brows rose. “Did you make the kill, Nexi?”

  I nodded.

  He appeared thrilled, as did Zia, giving me a big thumps up. I could only laugh at the absurdity of it all. If I had killed someone in my old life, I’d be getting a life sentence—here I am applauded.

  Talon was eyeing me curiously as he approached me, then looked to Kyden. “Well done training her, Son. Using her temper as you suggested worked just as you thought it would. She came along much quicker than I expected.”

  Huh? What was this?

  I glared at Kyden and he raised a brow, then smiled.

  He’s dead!

  “Go on. You’re done for tonight,” Talon told us.

  I followed Kyden out, burning a hole into the back of his head, especially since he was chuckling in front of me. Once we hit the foyer, I grabbed his arm forcing him to face me. “What the hell was that?” I snapped. “You’ve been pissing me off on purpose?”

  “I have,” he said, totally unashamed. His laugh grew louder and he began to step away from me. “I figured if I pissed you off enough you’d stop doubting yourself—you do have a bit of a temper.” He continued backing away, nearing the wall.

  “A temper you say? You wanna see it up close and personal?”


  He was shaking his head, laughing so hard tears were forming in his eyes “Don’t be angry, Álainn, you needed to stop doubting yourself and it worked.” He suddenly wrapped his arms around me. “Now you know what you’re capable of and that’s all that matters.”

  I hated that he was right. “You are unbelievable, you know that? All this time, I’ve been thinking you were just being a giant ass.”